Azets advises shareholders in sale of Russell Armer to Genesis Homes

Azets provided corporate finance and tax advice to the shareholders of Russell Armer Ltd on its sale to Penrith-based Genesis Homes for an undisclosed sum.

Headquartered in Kendal, Russell Armer is an award winning housebuilder, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. Shareholders Martyn Nicholson and Andrew Taylor will exit the business. All of the staff will be retained and the company will continue to trade under the Russell Armer brand. 

Since launching in 2017, Genesis Homes has built and sold a total of 180 homes over five developments. It generated revenues of nearly £22m in the last financial year and aims to be Cumbria’s leading housebuilder. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, amid rising demand, it’s on track to build its target of at least 100 homes this year. The acquisition of Russell Armer is a significant milestone in the company's growth plans. 

Martyn Nicholson, former managing director of Russell Armer said: “Having invested years building the company, with the help of a loyal and dedicated team, it was important to us to find the right acquisition partner who shared our company vision and values that would be able to sustain the Russell Armer legacy long after our retirement.  We are leaving the business in great hands with Genesis Homes and would like to thank our fantastic team, customers and suppliers for their support over the years. 

“We have received terrific support from the team at Azets who’ve advised us for more than 15 years and have helped us navigate and negotiate the transaction. We appreciate the dedication of the team in managing a smooth process throughout and delivering a successful transaction.”

Rob Richardson, corporate finance partner at Azets led the deal and was supported by Jenny Pape, Tax Partner, and Nan Hao, Corporate Finance Assistant Manager while Jim Truscott, Partner at Beyond Corporate in Manchester, led a team including Owen McKenna and Angeliki Kotsidou in providing legal advice to the vendor.   

Nicky Gordon, managing director, Genesis Homes said: ”We are delighted to have acquired such a well established developer with a proven track record in South Lakes and Lancashire. The acquisition of Russell Armer is a significant milestone achievement in our business plan to stretch our coverage to a more regional level across the whole of Cumbria and into Lancashire.”

Rob Richardson, corporate finance partner at Azets in the North West said: “We were delighted to advise Martyn and Andrew on the sale to Genesis Homes. We’ve worked with them on a variety of projects over the last 15 years and it’s great to see the success of their company being recognised.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Brexit and the uncertain economic outlook, this deal proves that attractive, well managed businesses will always be in demand.  It’s credit to the resilience and enterprise of the North West business community that our teams remain so active. It’s the sixth deal our team has completed this year and we’ve got a strong pipeline ahead.  As the regional house buying boom shows no sign of abating, we’d expect Genesis to go from strength to strength following this acquisition.”

Jim Truscott, partner at Beyond Corporate said: “It was a real pleasure to work with Martyn, Andrew and Genesis, in getting this deal done, and once again we enjoyed teaming up with the team at Azets. It’s always good to see strong long-established business move into new hands to enable a new chapter of growth. We wish Martyn, Andrew and Genesis all the very best for the future.”